Old Pictures

I remember when the kids were little and people would warn me about how fast they grow up. I really didn't understand what they meant, but now I know how true it is. When I look at these pictures it seems like it had to be yesterday. How could so much time have passed?

I love that picture of Tom. I wish there was sound with it so I could remember what he was saying. I'm sure he was giving instructions to Katie.

Katie loved having her hair in a ponytail. She was never interested in girly things. Give her a t-shirt and some jeans or shorts and she was happy.

Here is Katie and her first set of wheels that didn't require pedaling. She never looked back. All we've heard about for the last 14 years is what kind of car she is going to have someday. Someday is almost here.

Orange Beach Vacation

Last week we took a trip to the beach. We stopped in New Orleans first. The kids hadn't been there since they were very little and they didn't remember it at all. I've always thought New Orleans was an interesting place. I thought the kids would enjoy experiencing a place that is so different from what we are used to. I was wrong. They hated it. Katie was especially vocal with her opinions. It was too hot, too crowded, too noisy, too smelly, too big, and she had to walk too much. She didn't even like the beignets. How can you not like beignets? I enjoyed mine very much and I ate hers, too. From New Orleans, we drove to Orange Beach. Everyone was happy when we got there. We spent 2 days just soaking up the sun and playing in the surf. I mainly sat on my chair under the umbrella and read my book. That's my idea of a great vacation. The rest of the family likes a little more action.

The guys wanted to go fishing and after much thought and indecision, Katie and I decided to go with them. I don't like to fish and I get motion sickness, but I thought I would enjoy just going along for the ride. Alan said we would stay in the bay where the water is less choppy and with some Dramamine we should all be fine.

So we all head out for 4 hours of fishing fun. That's Rex our captain. He's about to have a very bad day and before long he will suggest that we never get in a boat again.

The first inkling I had that things might not go well was when Rex said that nobody was catching anything in the bay. He wanted to take us 5 miles off shore to a reef where we could catch as many red snapper as we wanted. Notice the size of the boat. It was small. There were no seats. Katie and I were sitting on a cooler and Tom and Alan had to cling to the sides. Much bigger boats were passing us by on our way out. As it turns out, it didn't matter much about the size of this boat because 1 mile off shore it just died. Just stopped dead in the water. Rex had to call a friend to come get us and tow us back to shore. He called another friend, Ronnie, to bring us another boat.

So we switched boats and headed back out. A storm had blown into the gulf so we couldn't go to the reef. Rex tried really hard for us to find a place to fish near shore, but nothing was working in our favor. The current was faster than usual. Something was wrong with the anchor. Alan and I both caught bluefish, but apparently that's not a fish you keep because Ronnie threw them back. After a while, the storm passed and Rex said he was taking us to the reef.

We got out there and it was really far away from shore. I could still see the condos but they were so small. I was feeling great though. Not the least bit sea sick. Rex found the fish but the current was so strong that he was having a hard time staying over them. By the time we would get our lines cast the boat would have drifted away from the fish. He kept circling back to the fish and that was my undoing. The slightly rough water and going in circles was more than I could take. At one point I handed my pole back and just clung to the boat. Oh, I didn't tell you that this boat was smaller than the first boat and it had a flat bottom. I don't know anything about boats but I do remember thinking that I hadn't seen any other boats going out that had flat bottoms like this one.

We couldn't catch anything. Tom did catch a snapper but as soon as he pulled it in Rex said it was too small to keep and threw it right back out. We hardly got a look at it. Kaite was playing with a shark. She caught one of those pilot fish that follow sharks and the next two times she cast, something bit her line straight through. About that time, Rex decided it was time to go back. I was trying so hard not to be sick and to not tell anyone I felt sick. I was glad to be going back. We hadn't gone very far at all and this boat died. Just like the first one. I couldn't think about it too much at the time because I had to concentrate so hard not to be sick. I didn't even panic when I heard Rex on the radio say, "We have a semi-emergency. We are dead in the water and adrift in the gulf." I just climbed up in the front of the boat and laid down to wait for help to arrive. If I had been thinking clearly, I'm sure I would have dwelled on the fact that there were sharks in the water and we were in a boat that just didn't seem like a deep-sea fishing boat.

I did do a lot of praying and God answered my prayer. The boat miraculously started up and we took off toward land. I did get sick over the side of the boat before we got back. That was just the icing on the cake.

So we were out for 6 hours and caught nothing. There was a restaurant at the marina that would cook what you caught, so we had been thinking about the red snapper we would be eating for supper. It didn't happen. We got off the boat with nothing and walked with our heads down across the peir.

This is what we saw as we were leaving. Look how happy they are. It should have been us. We went back to the condo and ordered pizza.

A couple of days later we were watching Alan's favorite show, "Swamp People", and I noticed that the gator hunters used these flat bottom boats called skiffs. We looked at each other and just started laughing. That's was the kind of boat we had been in. That boat was supposed to be in the Louisanna swamp hunting gators, not 5 miles off shore with sharks circling.

Overall it was a great vacation. The kids got to go parasailing. While they were in the air, they saw more sharks, a sea turtle and pods of sting rays. We will definitely go back to the beach but I may take Rex's advice and not venture out to sea again.

Cousins Camp 1

We got to have Jake and Emma over for a couple of days all by themselves, with no parents. I had been telling Kim that when they were old enough, we would have cousins camp at my house. I think Kim was eager for them to come. She called me that morning and asked what time I wanted them there. I said anytime after noon and she said, "OK, we'll be there at 12:01.

My kids have been going to Camp Runamucka (Kyle Cousins Camp) for about 10 years. In order to go to Camp Runamuka you have to meet some guidelines.

1. You must be potty trained.

2. You must be at least 4 years old.

3. You must be able to swim.

4. You can't cry for your mommy.

I think those are good guidelines. Jake qualifies for camp. Emma does not. So we bent the requirements for her. I changed her diaper, but she always told me when to do it. She's only 2 but that didn't hold her back in any way. She loves to swim, especially if Katie is holding her. She never once cried for her mommy.

She told me on the first day, "I like Katie. I like Tom. I like Alan. I like Cheryl. I do not like Chico.
Poor Chico. No one likes him much. He's mellowing a little with age, but now he's just like a grumpy old man. Chico spent most of Cousins Camp sitting on the porch looking in through the window.

The kids were great campers. I forgot to take pictures until it was time to go. They did not want to pose for pictures.

I had to wait quietly for a long time before Emma lifted the blanket off her head.

Jake would not smile. He started talking in different voices and I had to guess who I was talking to. Somtimes he is Spiderman and sometimes he is Iron Man.

I really enjoyed having them. We will have a Cousins Camp 2.

Catching Up

After a really long absence from writing my blog, I'm going to start again and try to catch up. I've disappointed my 3 regular readers and I'm very sorry. It's not that I haven't had anything to write about. My family provides ample subject matter for me to record and my husband has a new camera and has taken at least a million pictures. The truth is that I've been lazy. I'll admit it.


Alan's brother, Warren, was here this weekend with his family. Since we were all together, we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday. She will be 70 this month. I really thought we should have put 70 candles on her cake, but no one else thought that was a good idea. So instead, we gave her a list of 70 things we remember or appreciate about her. I guess that's better than starting a fire in the house.
Tom and Katie got to spend some time with their cousins. Somehow we missed getting a picture of Grace and Frannie, but we got a lot of Eleanor and Sam.

They don't get to see each other very often so they really enjoy it when they do get together.

This was also the weekend for Dottie's family reunion. This is Dottie and her brother Bob with most of their kids and grandkids.

It's been a really nice weekend with family. I'm going to get my nephew and neice tomorrow for a couple of days so the fun will continue.

Another Trip to the ER

I've decided that Tom is collecting hospital braclets. I wish he would find something else to do with his time. I got a really bad virus last week along with half the kids in my class and then I gave it to Tom. Instead of just lying around the house feeling bad for a couple of days like most people do, he took it to the next level and got a trip to the hospital in the back of an ambulance.



He had been sleeping most of the day and he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink. He got up and went into the kitchen. I saw him coming back into the family room. He stopped and leaned against the window. I called his name several times and he wouldn't respond to me. As I started to walk towards him, he turned from the window and just fell to the ground. He was lying on his stomach with his arms at his side and he was out cold. We have tile floors and I was so afraid that he might have a head injury. Alan called 911 and within about 5 minutes the firemen were here. He was starting to come to but his thinking was foggy and he knew he couldn't remember things. The firemen put him on a backboard and in another 5 minutes the ambulance was here and he was on his way to the hospital.

The doctor determined he was dehydrated which caused him to pass out. They gave him some IV fluids, watched him for a while, and then let us go home.

I can't tell you how much it scared me to watch him pass out like that. It's really a miracle that he wasn't hurt when he fell. He could have hit the granite countertop or a chair when he fell, but he didn't. He landed in just the right spot. He could have had a head injury just from hitting the tile floor, but he didn't.

I was thinking about all this after we got home and my first thought was that he had been very lucky, but then I remembered this book I've been reading and now I know that God's hand was in everything that happened. No luck was needed.

When the kids were little, I read through a book called "The Power of a Praying Parent". Each chapter is about something to pray over your kids about. It's been years since I even thought of the book, but I picked it up several weeks ago and started reading and praying through each chapter again. For some reason, the kid's safety has really been on my mind. Tom is learning to drive. Katie plays sports and there have been so many sports injuries this year within her team
that I've really felt like they needed to be covered in prayer.

One day as I was reading, I came across this verse. "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:11-12)". I started praying this verse over the kids. I truly believe that God gives angels charge over us and when Tom fell, I think an angel caught him and laid him down. That's the only explanation that makes sense. He didn't even have a bruise on the side on his face that he landed on.

This incident has reminded not only of the power of prayer, but that Alan and I have a huge responsibility. We have to pray for our kids. We have to pray with purpose and intention and not leave anything to chance.

Just Call Her "K Squared'

Basketball season started in November and I can't believe I haven't posted any pictures of Katie playing yet. This is her first year of high school basketball and she loves it, and even though I'm her mom and my opinion doesn't count much, I think she's awesome. They started district play in January. Our school district moved up to 3A this year so the kids are playing teams they've never played before. We are a very small school compared to the others in our district. These other towns all have stop lights and HEBs and Walmarts. We are a very small fish.

Our girls are doing great though. Their district record so far is 2-1. They beat Lampasas and Taylor. Last night they lost by one point to Llano.

Katie is really playing well. She great on defense. I love it when she steals the ball and makes a break for the basket and makes a beautiful lay up, right or left handed. She can jump like a kangaroo and she's getting better at rebounding. Have I bragged enough? Remember, I'm her mom, I can brag some.

There is another Katie on the varsity team and the coaches decided they needed a nickname for my Katie to avoid confusion during practice. So they tried several different ones out and have apparently settled on K-Squared. They should have asked me. I have plenty of nicknames for her although she probably wouldn't want to be called "Sugar Booger" on the court.